A Room For Romeo Brass (1999)

Shane Meadows knows how to do a slow-burner. One of Britain's most powerful filmmakers, Meadows is a master of racketing up the tension in a seemingly ordinary situation. Never stupid, never sensational, he casts his unblinking eye on modern life in the UK and the fragilities of human relationships. If I had to choose between Meadows and Mike Leigh, I would pick Meadows, every time.

   "A Room For Romeo Brass" is about how an ordinary friendship can undergo extraordinary duress when a dangerous third party is added to the mix. Two preteen friends, white Gavin and mixed-race Romeo share a brotherly bond that is equal parts camaraderie and constant teasing. Gavin (Ben Marshall,) called 'Knocks,' has a bad back and a limp, and is in transition to another surgery.

   He's always up to a bit of mischief, and Romeo (Andrew Shim) is his softer-hearted other half. When a man named Morell (a very young Paddy Considine) rescues Gavin and Romeo from some bigger boys, he seems like a harmless, if eccentric, addition to the group. With his 'Simple Jack' haircut and halting speech, he doesn't readiate 'cool,'but he is friendly and can tell a sensational story like anyone.

   The thing about these kinds of stories is, if they sound too good to be true they probably are, but this matters nada to the boys and one of them, Romeo, is sucked in by his dynamic personality. Gavin thinks that Morell is a sucker and good for a mean practical joke. He's deadly wrong. As Morell reveals a dark, violent side, Romeo and Gavin's friendship is tested to it's outer limits.

 Shane Meadows found two good little actors in Shim and Marshall, but Considine is the main draw here. Considine, who would later astonish audiences, including myself, in Shane Meadows' grungy revenge indie "Dead Man's Shoes", puts a unique spin on a character who is probably suffering from an undiagnosed mental disorder.

   Like "Sling Blade"'s Karl or"Buddy Boy"s Francis, Morell's uniqueness is electrifying to watch. At times I was wowed by this apparently simple man's ability to coerce and manipulate, and wondered if his limitations were a ruse and he was, in fact, a very clever psychopath. The truth is much more complicated.

   Wait for the precise moment when the up-til-then likably dotty Morrel becomes suddenly sinister. It's mind-blowing. "A Room for Romeo Brass" glues your eyes to the screen, and tells a intense story about friendship and betrayal, about a wolf in sheep's clothing who fleetingly wins- if not earns- our sympathy nonetheless. With it's three-dimensional characters and incisive writing, it's nothing less than riviting. Bravo, Shane Meadows. Keep them coming.
                                                      Rating- 
                                                  9.0/10

Dead Man's Shoes (2004)

   Bloody and brilliant, "Dead Man's Shoes" is an emotional rollercoaster from beginning to end. The 57% rating on Rotten Tomatoes is both a crying shame and a sacrilege, because this is Shane Meadows' masterpiece -- a film that transcends the revenge genre, delivering a heart-pounding, intense story that lets events unfold in a way that is anything but simple.

   Richard (Paddy Considine) returns home from military service with no intention of living a nice quiet life and settling down. The target of his rage: a low-rent drug gang that did some terrible things to his borderline simple brother Anthony (Toby Kebbell) some time before.

    After Richard threatens a drug dealer and later gives him an unsettlingly twitchy apology, the gang of thugs suspect that ol' Anthony's brother might be a few screws short of a tool box, but don't know how to react. Sonny (Gary Stretch), the most sadistic and smartest (and in a group like this, that's not saying much), takes charge as best as he is able, but they are no match for Richard's cool-headed brutality and military training.

Repost of an Old Favorite: This is England

It's 1983, and unsupervised, beleaguered Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) is missing his soldier dad, who died in the Falklands war an unspecified amount of time ago. So when an older boy at school makes a crack about his father, Shaun takes it upon himself to fight the kid, getting both of them into trouble and inciting the events that make up This Is England, Shane Meadows' semi-autobiographical account of the nuances and temptations of skinhead culture.

   Shaun is twelve, high-spirited and foul-mouthed, traits that exasperate his single mother Cynthia (Jo Hartley). He is damaged and distrustful when he meets Woody (Joseph Gilgun), a tattooed teenager who runs his own little gang in their coastal town. Contrary to what you might infer, Woody is not the antagonist of the story.

    He is a member of a unique subculture of skinheads, who are neither violent nor inherently racist. Leave the violence and racism to Combo (virtual unknown Stephen Graham, giving a performance that rivals Edward Norton's in American History X), an old colleague of the weak-willed Woody who leaves prison as volatile as ever.

   Shaun sees a father figure in Combo, who manipulates Shaun's future allegiance. When the group breaks up, Shaun and Woody go their separate ways, and Shaun is drawn into a fanatical group of fascists who allegedly want to prevent England's rape at the hands of foreigners. But when Combo goes too far, Shaun his unsure where his best interests lie.

   Shane Meadows, who found cult success with the fantastic Brit revenge thriller Dead Man's Shoes, infuses elements of his own life into this drama, which avoids making the situation black and white or relying on sentimentality.

   Stephen Graham gives a standout performance as the skinhead Combo, whose very being seethes with rage and desperation. First-time actor Thomas Turgoose also turns in a good performance as the vulnerable and wayward Shaun. The movie has its violent and icky moments (Perry Benson  crouched with his bare a*s on the floor of an ethnic store trying to take a dump, anybody?) but the film never becomes as exploitative or sadistic as Geoffrey Wright's Australian skinhead drama Romper Stomper.

   Shane Meadows is one of Britain's most intriguing directorial names today, but I would say you need to watch Dead Man's Shoes first and foremost, for a chance to see the filmmaker at the height of his powers. Regardless, This is England is intelligent, unflinching, and savvy, and gives a fresh look into a well-known sub genre.